2018 was the hottest year in Hungary

The analysis of the Hungarian National Meteorological Service states that according to the recorded measurements since 1901, 2018 was the hottest year ever in Hungary, and the data is even higher than what global warming should have brought along.

The mean temperature countrywide was 11.99 °C on average, which exceeded the normal value between 1981 and 2010 with 1.66 °C – can be read on Origo.hu.

2018 started with a mild January, and only February and March were colder than the average. April and May were also very warm and, while on the first day of Spring a tachometer in Sátorhely measured -24.6 °C, on the last day of the season it was 32.9 °C measured in Sajópüspöki. In total, last spring was the 3rd warmest Spring in Hungary. During Summer, August earned the 4th place among the warmest Augusts in the history of Hungary. In Fülöpháza, the temperature exceeded 30 °C for 51 days in the Summer and the overall highest temperature was measured on the 29th of June in Budakalász; it was 36.6 °C.

In summary, the Summer of 2018 was the 7th hottest Summer season in Hungarian history. Autumn almost broke the record as it became the 2nd warmest Fall since 1901. September started with Summer heat, but October’s temperature was well above the average as well.

Concerning precipitation, the months of the Spring season showed diversified results; while March was more precipitated than the average, during May and especially in April, there was a huge lack of rain. Since 1901 March was the 3rd most rainy and April was the 6th most dry month.

The precipitation during Summer arrived in extreme conditions and extreme spatial distributions. In many destinations, the amount of rain exceeded the amount of the average amount of rain a month several times, but in other locations, the lack of moisture was pressing in August.

From the middle of October on until the end of the month, the peak temperature reigned, and only 40% of the average have rained and concentrated in only a few days. During the middle of the month, a drought took shape near the Hungarian borders and the water level of several sections of the Danube was record low.

This caused problems for farmers which you can read about HERE. But it also has some unusual benefits as well. People found several important artefacts in the Danube.

The interesting thing is that from among the top 10 hottest years, 8 happened after the turn of the millennium. According to the analysis, the rate of warming since the start of the century is 1.23 °C which is somewhat over the global rate.